Short ribs also have a ton of flavor, so they are a personal favorite of mine. They also are usually pretty inexpensive (today they were less per pound than ground beef at Safeway). If I have a busy day I throw them in the crock pot, but if I have the time there is no better way to cook them than a nice slow braise. You can use any liquid to braise meat with, from broth to beer to water. I prefer something that is going to add to the flavor of the meat, so I use beer most often. Coating the meat with seasoned flour allows the flavor of the spices to stay on the meat, and the flour thickens up the braising liquid over the cooking time to make a nice tight topping. I hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Read moreLife in Fat Boy Heaven
Sorry posts have been so slow in the last couple of weeks. My father in law came through surgery fine, and is now in short term rehab for a few days while he gets his strength back. Until Tuesday that meant a lot of driving across town to the hospital to fit around normal life.
Now that life is back closer to normal I can get things caught up. I'll have some amazing dinners from the last couple of weeks including a Bacon wrapped Blackberry Pork Loin Roast I'm particularly proud of from last night coming your way, as well as reviews of everything from cigars and humidors, to Whisky from the folks at Caskers.com, new journaling systems from BulletJournal.com via their Kickstarter project, and clothes from Ript Apparel and Dickies. It's going to be a busy weekend.
Got an interesting press release and invitation from a new web hksting platform today, and accepted their invitation to be a founding member when they launch in coming weeks to see what their engine does to Fat Boy Heaven.
The Grid proposes to let AI make content placement decisions freeing up the publishers time to create. I'm intrigued by the concept, but only time will tell how well the idea translates to a blog like ours. Stay tuned when we launch the experiment, it will be unique if nothing else.
FeastPDX Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting
FeastPDX is the Northwest's premier food and beverage event. Founded in 2012 by Mike Thelin and Carrie Welch, Feast Portland showcases local culinary talent and Pacific Northwest ingredients alongside internationally recognized chefs, culinary professionals and industry leaders. Feast Portland is also a festival with a mission, donating its net proceeds towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon and around the country through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength.
The centerpiece of the festival is the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, a two day event in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
This is the second year Fat Boy Heaven has attended this amazing event, and this year was even better than last year. It is easy to see why everyone from Zagat to Forbes has lauded it as one of the nation's premiere food events, and while naming it one of America's top 15 food events Fodor's Travel said it was "done to such perfection you’d think one of the Pacific Coast’s biggest-catch food events was in its 30th year.”
I could write for days about the flavors and sights of this amazing event, but wiser men than I for generations have said a picture is worth a thousand words so I will give you- the sights of Feast Portland:
Whole Foods, a featured sponsor of the event had a large tent set up on the upper level of the square featuring local products they were debuting in their styles from Portland vendors.
And there you have it, the sites and food of Feast Portland's Grand Tasting for 2014. I'm already looking forward to next year's event. Up next, a new event for this year, the Tillamook Brunch Village.
Fatboy Challenge: Juicing(?)
I really should never let old friends meet my wife. When I do crap like this happens. When Coop and I ended our Fat Boy Summer Road Trip a couple of weeks ago it gave my lovely wife a chance to get to know him. That led to him talking about healthy living, the polar opposite of the Fat Boy lifestyle. He encouraged her to watch a documentary made by a man named Joe Cross entitled "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".
In the movie he details his incredible weight loss achieved by going on a juice only diet. The success of the film caused him to write a book of recipes, sign a deal with a juicer manufacturing company, and exploit his success. Suddenly my darling wife wants me to order her a juicer, and a new series for Fat Boy Heaven is born.
Over the next week I will compare two popular juice based cleansing diets, the "Reboot with Joe" made famous by Joe Cross, and The BluePrint Juice Cleanse, a very popular brand of pre-made cold pressed juices that sell for a huge amount ($7-11/each) and whose recipes have been widely copied and published via the web as a result.
Each plan is a three day cleanse, and we will compare taste, variety, cost of ingredients, and weight loss/health changes to determine which plan works out best for me and proves most time and cost effective.
First up starting tomorrow will be a DIY version of the BluePrint Renovation Cleanse, their most varied and flavorful package intended for those of us new to Juicing.
The Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 Part 2: On the Road Day 7
With yesterday's delays we had some miles to make up today, but had a night in Nashville waiting as our reward for making the push.
We saw some beautiful scenery crossing the Smoky Mountains as we crossed Virginia, and driving through them in Tennessee as we logged almost 900 miles. We stopped in Bristol, VA/TN for a later lunch and found ourselves at Burger Bar, a downtown Bristol fixture since 1942 with a big sign advertising Bristol's Best Burger. We were greated by friendly staff and a 1940s style diner that I'm sure looks very much like it did the day it opened.
I had a pretty basic bacon and cheddar burger made extraordinary by the hand formed fresh beef patty, high-grade bacon, and perfect seasoning. When I eat at this type of diner I try the burger the way it is served before I add condiments, and for a burger to be "Fat Boy Approved" it has to stand on its own. This burger did with no problem at all. The beef perfectly cooked, juicy without grease running all over, high quality toppings, and a great bun that held up without being too crusty.
After completing our meal we found out that Joe Deel, one of the owners was there and when our waitress handed him the card I left with the check he came out to talk with me for a few minutes. What I wish I had known before I ordered is that much of what they serve every day isn't on the menu. Regulars know to ask what they have fresh when they sit at the counter, and it has been known to range from fresh organic produce to venison. If I make it back I'll be sure to ask Joe what he wants to cook me instead of even looking at the menu. This is hometown hospitality and tradition done right, and Bristol's Famous Burger Bar is earning a permanent place in Fat Boy Heaven as a result. Whether you are in town for races at the Bristol Motor Speedway, or traveling through to learn more about Bristol's role in country music history make sure you stop in and see the Deel's and tell them the Fat Boy sent you.
As we left Bristol a torrential thunder storm hit out of nowhere, not an uncommon occurance this high in the Smoky Mountains. Visibility was so bad that traffic on the Interstate literally pulled over to wait it out or crept aong with 4-way flashers helping fellow travelers see them on the road. It passed almost as quickly, and we made the trip the rest of the way into Nashville without issue.
We checked into our hotel and quickly changed out of our travel clothes to go out and explore Nashville. Coop had never been here, and was blown away when we got down to Broadway, where the majority of the honky tanks in town sit side by side in a three block stretch near the Ryman Auditorium and the Nashville Convention Center. After walking the strip we decided nothing special was going on anywhere else, so we might as well hit the oldest of the bars. On Broadway, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. The place was packed and we waited on line for about 20 minutes before getting inside. Once there we got drinks at the bar from the friendly and efficient staff and found a spot to stand and enjoy the performance of Anthony Orion and the Goodfellows.
It was a great night at an amazing bar, and even after a long day on the road we couldn't pry ourselves away until last call. Now we can't wait to get back to Nashville with more time to explore.
The Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 Part 2: On the Road Day 5
Today took us away from the beach and back to the road. We passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and into Maryland for tonight's stop in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD.
Read moreThe Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 - Day 4
Day 4, the last on the train I woke up somewhere in central Ohio, just west of Elyria. I got up and around, took my last train board shower (not an easy proposition for a Fat Boy, let me tell you) and then headed up for breakfast.
Read moreBourbon Review: Penny Packer Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Dinner Classic: Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was "boiled dinner". Corned Beef and Cabbage cooked all day on the stove, allowing flavors to mix and make a delicious dinner to serve the whole family. If we were lucky and weren't very hungry that night, there were enough left over potatoes and corned beef for Dad to make hash the next morning. Twelve years after Dad has passed away, it is still the dinner I fall back to on St. Paddy's Day.
Read moreReview: Salted Chocolate Covered Caramels from The Candy Basket
In 1934 The Candy Basket Inc. opened its doors, hand making delicious chocolate confections to delight its local communities. Several generations and three factories later they have grown into a full line confectioner offering a wide variety of chocolates, toffees, brittles, fudges, corns, and jells. It is their goal to bring their customers memories of grandma’s “Heavenly Divinity”, mom’s amazing “Red Velvet Cake (truffle)”, and the summer time treat we all enjoyed as kids, dreamy “Creamsicle Fudge”, of course…It’s all just Pure & Simple.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff
This morning it looked like it would be another blustery day, so I decided to try cooking my son's favorite dinner in the slow cooker instead of on the stove top. I am extremely happy with the results, and I think you all will really enjoy it as well.
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